by Rain Oxford
* * *
I was exhausted, injured, and completely lost. At one point, I got so frustrated that I tried to go through the hedge. That was a mistake I would never make again. I was pretty sure I lost half my blood, because as soon as the thorns tasted it, the hedges didn’t want to let me go. I had to actually fight thorny vines that wrapped themselves around my arms and waist.
Even worse was the fact that the sky was beginning to darken. I worried that Bralyn and Merlin had already given up on me and desperately wanted to call out to them. Only my fear that the hedges would answer my call instead kept my mouth shut.
Several times, I felt, heard, or even saw something move behind me, and the wind often sounded like it was carrying the conspiracies of monsters. It occurred to me that I could use my wand to make light, and then it occurred to me that I was a complete idiot. One of the first spells I had ever learned was a guidance spell. I pulled my wand out of my pocket, pushed magic into it, and told it to show me the way out. A sphere of white magic burst from the tip of the wand and fluttered in the air for a moment before disappearing in one direction. I chased after it.
I finally felt like I was getting somewhere, and seriously thought I was just about out of the maze… when the bright ball of light sank right through one of the hedges as if it was getting impatient. Unfortunately, I was also impatient. This time, I put my wand away and focused my magic into my staff.
The result was quite different. It was fire instead of light that burst from my staff and the hedges around me instantly blazed until it was nothing more than smoldering ashes on the ground. And I was surrounded by four men.
“I just discovered what was bothering me so much about this place,” Merlin suddenly said in my mind with a definite tone of panic. “Whatever you do, you must not use dark magic!”
Too late.
The four men had no weapons, but there was something very dangerous about them. All of them were slender and dressed from head to toe in black uniforms, which even covered up their faces and hair. The only skin they showed was their eyes. The cloth of the uniform appeared to be thin; even their boots conformed to their feet like gloves. Most odd was the white patches on their chests. On one of them was a heart, on another was a diamond, another had a spade, and the last had a club.
They took on a fighting stance. I wasn’t a warrior; I had never been taught to fight. I was, however, a sorcerer; I had never been taught to let that stop me. If I was going down, I wasn’t going to make it easy for them. These weren’t small men who were just desperate to escape a curse.
As if some part of me needed to be sure, I let them make the first move. All four of them made a fancy motion with their hands and swords formed out of thin air. They were one-handed swords with curved, thin blades that glowed red. These were sorcerers specifically trained to fight.
Pulling out my wand again, I let magic flow through both my wand and staff. The magic once again combined into a cool blue light, but then, to my shock, it split back into white and red. White magic, laced with the magic of the staff, poured into me, dark magic, laced with the magic of the wand, struck my opponents like lightning. I felt the defensive magic protecting my flesh like the staff had done before, but the numb sensation was so much deeper.
The dark magic was also going very deep into my opponents. When they were all on the ground, moaning in pain, I actually felt disappointed. “That’s it? You’re Magnus’s defense and you can be taken down by a little lightning?”
Apparently, they didn’t like being taunted, because they all sort of… floated back up onto their feet, as if they were pulled by strings. It was creepy.
I struck again, only to immediately feel an uncomfortable draw on my energy. It was much more potent magic than I was used to, yet the men didn’t go down this time. Instead, the magic seemed to be absorbed into their swords, which was about the worst thing that could have happened.
One of them swung his sword at me. I moved almost before I saw him and blocked the blow with my staff, then immediately regretted it; the idea that his sword would hurt my staff made me sick. I needn’t have worried, because the staff crackled with the same blue energy that was protecting my skin.
I swung it upward, obviously catching him unaware, as it struck him squarely across the jaw and sent him flying backwards. The remaining three men attacked as one. The heart man and the diamond man used their swords, but I waved my wand and energy swarmed around me, somehow slowing their blades so that I could easily avoid them. At the same time, the man with the club on his chest held his sword up into the air as if it were a staff and violent red magic turned green. I had seen this exact curse before; the sinister energy was a poison.
I tried to think of what I was supposed to do to counteract it. I knew how to create it, but not how to defend against it. There wasn’t enough time.
“Stop.” The woman’s voice was sudden and unexpected, like a cup smashing on the ground. The poison dissolved and we all turned to see who had interrupted our duel.
She could have been the embodiment of white magic. Her long, golden blond hair was partially braided, partially loose and draped over her shoulders, her blue eyes sparkled in the fading sunlight, and her long white ropes dragged on the ground. She was slim, dainty, and not very tall, yet her aura was strong.
I opened my mouth to speak, only to shut it when I saw the necklace she wore. It was a multi-colored crystal with a silver object in the center of it. I recognized it from a book I once read. I had no idea what book, but I had definitely seen that crystal before.
She stood in the castle’s doorway, where roses clung to the stone frame and emphasized her purity with their blood color. “Leave us,” she said to the four men, who all bowed and then walked away. “Come in, Ayden. I have waited a long time for your visit.”
I didn’t move. “I’m here to see Magnus. A great seer, Dessa, told me that I would find the wizard here.”
She gave me an oddly familiar half smirk. “She told you that what you seek is in the Island of Light. You may have thought you wanted to defeat Magnus, but what you really wanted was a choice.”
“And you can give me a choice?”
“I can explain to you what your choices are.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Livia Dracre, the seventh daughter of Morina Dracre.”
“Morina Dracre is my grandmother. You’re my aunt?!”
Chapter 12
I followed Livia into the castle. The interior was not the kind of place I ever imagined a sorceress would live in. The ceilings were high and the walls were decorated with gold art and extravagant murals. All of the furniture was old, delicately crafted wood with soft-looking, colorful fabrics and accented with glass and gold vases and statues. Huge windows let in lots of sunlight.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “Is this some kind of disguise to fool wizards into thinking you’re one of them? This isn’t really your home, is it?”
She studied me for a moment. “I was about your age when I decided on my path, too. Let me guess, Ilvera wants to kill you?”
“How did you---”
“She can’t,” she interrupted.
We entered a small study with wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The fireplace, door, and window were the only sections of the walls not covered in books. Two high-back, green suede chairs sat facing each other in front of it with a small, low table between them. The table was mostly made of glass with a sturdy-looking red wood frame. Livia gestured to one of the chairs. I sat, but before sitting herself, she pulled a white wand from inside her left sleeve and waved it at the table, where two cups of tea appeared.
I gaped. “You’re really powerful.”
She slipped her wand back into her sleeve, sat down, and took one of the cups. “We have different strengths. I can conjure anything, but I have trouble breaking even the simplest curse. From what I’ve seen, it is the other way around for you.”
“You’ve been watching me?”
“Of course. You are my nephew after all. I had to be sure that my sister didn’t turn you onto a dark path.” She sat forward and ran her fingers over the emblem on my robe. “She must be so furious.” Then she touched my hair and I sat back so that she had to let go. “You should change your hair back. This doesn’t suit you.”
“How did you see me?”
She retrieved her wand from her sleeve again and motioned with it to the table. The glass surface changed into a mirror. I squeaked.
“W-what… I mean… oh.”
“All I have to do is say a person’s name. Show me Ilvera.”
A new shape took form in the mirror until I saw the top of my mother’s cabin. Since I had seen it from the tree-tops, I recognized it easily.
“I can’t actually see into her house because she has more magic than my mirror, but I could track your progress after you left.” She motioned with her wand again and the mirror changed back into a table.
“Why were you watching me?”
“You are special. You see, I was the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter. Ilvera is my older sister; the sixth daughter. There was no end to her fury when she discovered that her younger sister was more powerful than her. She tried to kill me and take my power, but she never got the chance. Like you, I had a choice.”
I laid my staff down on the table next to my untouched cup of tea. “A choice between being a sorcerer or a wizard?”
“Not quite. We were born with very special magic, which made us inherently neutral. It isn’t so much that we can choose one or the other. It’s more like we are both. My mother was a devious woman who tried very hard to rid me of all my kindness. I had just enough stubbornness to survive childhood. I fought and cursed my sisters rather than innocent people. Fortunately, my mother never knew the truth of what I was. Unfortunately, Ilvera found books on it and figured out why I was so much more powerful than her.
“When I was your age, my father took me to hide with another family. They were sorcerers, but they were not like the Dracre. I decided to be what I wanted to be. Ilvera hunted me down and tried to take my magic, but by then, my magic was all light or neutral, and she didn’t want that. So she took the seventh son, your father, and decided to breed the next power source. She thought that if she had boys, you would be more malevolent.”
I gaped. “So she ridiculed me, tortured me, and encouraged my brothers to do the same to make me become like them? That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. If anything, I’m the way I am because I don’t want to be like my brothers. I want them to respect me, but I don’t want to treat others the way they do. Does this mean I’m a wizard?”
“Whether you choose to use light magic or dark magic, you will always have the choice. I never cared for the distinction between wizards and sorcerers. Unlike a sorcerer or wizard, you have the choice every single time. You chose to fight my guards. I chose to make my magic lighter by living this way. If I were to live around other people, I would be tempted to use both dark and light magic.”
“I… don’t understand.”
“I know. Ilvera would never have explained it to you. The idea of being something between a wizard and sorcerer is against everything you were ever taught.”
“Ayden, are you okay?” Merlin asked.
“I don’t know,” I responded without thinking.
There was silence for a moment. “Where are you?”
“Where is Merlin?” I asked Livia.
“He and the warrior are being kept in another room. I knew you came here thinking that this was Magnus’s home, but since I am not a seer, I didn’t know what you would do when you discovered who I was. Both of your companions are safe.”
“Let them go.”
“Soon. We have much more to discuss. Particularly what to do about your brothers.”
“What about them?”
“Sorcerers are important for the continuation of all magic on Caldaca, but your brothers are starting to become too destructive. Dessa warned me of what would happen if they are left unchecked. They would not stop at destroying Magnus. When they reach his castle, they will face a monstrous beast they could not be prepared for. If they fight it, it will kill Thaddeus, and your other brothers will take it out on all wizards.”
I bet it’s a dragon. I’m going to be so mad if they try to hurt a poor dragon. “None of my brothers can be taken out by a mere monster.”
“That is what they believe as well. If you cannot stop them, war will break out between sorcerers and wizards.”
“That’s nothing new. There have been dozens of wars between them.”
“Not like this. This war will take the lives of the most powerful magic-users on this world and eventually lead to the complete loss of magic for a hundred years.”
“Impossible,” I argued. She just sipped her tea. “I’m not going to kill my brothers.”
“You must.”
“You just said I had the choice between light and dark magic.”
“You do, but here you only have the choice between a bad situation and a worse one. You must fight your brothers. If you face Magnus, there will be no one to stop them. I cannot tell you anything else, or I risk ruining everything. Come back to me after everything settles and I will teach you both light and dark magic. I wish I could help you.”
“I can’t beat my brothers. For one thing, there’re six of them. For another, they know my weaknesses. If I defeat Magnus before them, that means I’m better than them. You can help me by telling me how to find him.”
“I cannot. I chose my path many years ago and now it is your turn.” She retrieved her wand again and waved it at my staff. White magic flowed from her wand to the crystal. “Your staff will now show you the way. I can transport you to the nearest land, but it is impossible to transport you to Magnus himself.”
“But you just said you wouldn’t help me.”
“I am helping you find Magnus because your brothers are going after him. The only way for you to defeat them is to get ahead of them.”
“Is it far? And how close to him are my brothers?”
“Your journey is as long as you make it. Your brothers are having a difficult time finding Magnus, but they’re starting to use their heads.”
“Wow. I bet it’ll break something if they actually come up with a plan.”
She grinned. “I guess that is another thing we have in common. Ilvera was my only sister who knew how to read. The rest of them were not intelligent enough to figure out why I was so powerful.”
“So, Dessa sent me here to learn why I have white magic, but how does that help me? I’m still not going to be accepted by sorcerers or wizards.”
“People will accept you when you accept yourself. Since you left home, how many people turned you away because you were not a cruel sorcerer or a selfless wizard?”
I shrugged. “Well, I lied to the elves by letting them think I’m a wizard. My family will never accept me unless I can get rid of the white magic.”
She put her hand over her face with frustration. “Your family will never accept you no matter what you do. Acceptance is not in them. The only way you can be happy is to be yourself. Even then, you will have difficult decisions to make and you will have to do things that you hate, but you cannot be happy living as a sorcerer or wizard.”
I stood. “You can’t know that. You’re using white magic without dark magic.”
“That’s because I made a mistake. I didn’t have anyone to tell me what my choice was. I chose to lock away my darkness. I shouldn’t have.”
I sat back down. “What do you mean? You look perfectly happy.”
“It’s why I’m here alone.” She rubbed the crystal pendant. “I was married long before you were born. My husband was a traveler, who had seen many worlds and never judged me on what I was. When our daughter was born, I knew she wasn’t like us. Veronica even looked like the rest of the Dracre family; black hair, pale skin… but she had my blue eyes.
; “She had only dark magic from the moment she was born. I thought I could teach her to be good. Even before she learned magic, she started torturing and slaughtering animals. When she was ten, she tried to kill me, so her father took her to another world.
“Out of shame, I locked away my darkness. Eventually, I fell in love with a very kind wizard and had another daughter, named Sonya. She had blond hair, blue eyes, and only goodness inside her. She only had light magic. Unfortunately, Veronica made it back to this world a few years later and learned about Sonya.”
“What about Veronica’s father?”
“I never saw him again. I think she killed him.”
“I tried to find her and help her, but she wanted me dead. She had some strange ability to communicate with animals and even enchant them into following her orders. She killed Sonya.”
“How did you defeat her?”
“I didn’t. How could I harm my own child? I sent Veronica to a world where she couldn’t use magic. After that, Sonya’s father and I couldn’t be together. We’re still friends, though.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“You and I were not meant to have only dark or only light magic.”
“So no matter what I do, I’ll never fit in. Maybe… what if I lock my light magic away like you did your dark magic?” I asked.
She groaned. “You have your mother’s stubbornness. It might be possible, but the consequences will be horrible, and I will not be a part of it. You would lose everything you have now, including your friends.”
“Where is Merlin?”
“I will let him go, just as long as you agree to defeat your brothers.”
I stood up in anger. “You’re holding him captive?!”
“Doesn’t he mean more to you than your brothers?”